Borough of Point Pleasant Beach Council Meeting Minutes
April 5, 2022
Held in-person at Borough Hall Council Chambers, 416 New Jersey Avenue, Point Pleasant Beach.
Live streamed via https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCflODKbSFakXUEKiyxSYdUA/live
Mayor Kanitra called the regular meeting to order at 7:30PM. The Municipal Clerk read the notice indicating compliance with the Open Public Meetings Act: “Adequate notice of the time and place of this meeting was given under the provisions of the Open Public Meetings Act and was posted and sent to the officially designated newspapers in compliance with the law.” Present were Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley and Migut.
FLAG SALUTE, INVOCATION
Motion by Councilman Ramos to approve the March 15, 2022 Council meeting minutes was seconded by Councilwoman Crowley and carried by roll call vote.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
PROCLAMATION:
National Library Week: Mayor Kanitra presented a proclamation to Matt Willbergh, Branch Manager-Point Pleasant Beach, Ocean County Library – so proud of the library – tough couple of years with COVED (Mr. Willbergh: this is a week to promote library services – been here 6 years – loves serving the community – library has a ton of services, including online – can stop in or give him a call – have started giving out Baby Yoda library cards – so much of what they do is bringing people into the building – are just coming back after the pandemic – mentioned all the newspapers they have – struggles to market all they have to offer, including Story Time – on May 9th at 7PM, an Ocean County naturalist is coming to talk about the railroads – there are Pick & Jam acoustic guitar sessions once a month – are lining up summer programming – community loves this library – he is honored to have been here – a community treasure (Vince Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: has worked with Matt – has always been great assistant on military and other things – the “Ocean Star: should feature the library, which is a real value to the town, that most people are not aware of – it’s a nice place to be).
DEPARTMENT HEAD MEMO:
Curb Cut Request at 1A Water Street was discussed (BA/CFO Riehl: Acting ZO Savacool is not in favor – there is a driveway on the east side that can hold 2 normal-size vehicles – would require jockeying and make backing out worse.; Mayor Kanitra: have to rely on what Mr. Savacool says – especially on Water St., where parking is at a premium; Atty. Riordan: just move on).
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Councilman Vitale: acknowledged April employee anniversaries – Kristen O’Rourke 2 years, Chris Burger 20, Robert Balzano 2, Aaron Strong 1; gave Chief’s Report – various training includes ICAT & ABLE, Autism Shield, National Child Safety Certification, Human Trafficking, and an Armorers course – were various arrests and Borough ordinance arrests – the proper use of car seats and booster seats is one of the simplest and most effective methods of protecting the lives of children in the event of a motor vehicle crash – Officers Benites and Latshaw are Certified Car Seat Safety Technicians – will have 4 Car Seat & Booster Seat Safety Check sessions – for assistance, call Headquarters and make an appointment – Dept. is participating in Distracted Driving Awareness Month, which began on Apr. 1st – received a $7K grant for officers to work supplemental patrols to focus on distracted drivers – put away cell phone, secure passengers, avoid multi-tasking and stay focused on the road; thanked the Dept., as he was away for a week and his burglar alarm went off at 1AM on the 2nd day of his vacation – was a dead battery, but the Police came and did a thorough search – they called him and he signed up for the resident on vacation program – saw the Police there on his Ring camera 3 times/day; Recreation Committee – the Sham Rock event was held on Mar. 20th and was a huge success – 500 people registered – had Irish step dancers, a pipe and drum band, games for the kids, downtown hunt and leprechauns – working on Summer Camp – memorialization to advertise for Camp positions is on tonight’s agenda, along with a PO to buy more art supplies for Camp – the Easter Egg Hunt is April 16th at Pleasure Park – registration is open on the Rec Facebook page, or reach out to him; the Military Banner Program is ongoing – got 6-7 banners since it was reintroduced – should get more once they go up.
Councilwoman Testa: Sham Rock was a great event – thanked Councilman Vitale; the Arts Committee Beach pARTy is July 1st – the Online Poetry Contest will be up soon for submissions; Beautification is doing a great job cleaning their gardens – flowers have been ordered – will be planting pots in spring – will talk about changes at the next meeting; the Bike Hoedown is May 2st at the Silver Lake lot, 10AM-7PM, set-up at 8AM – will submit tomorrow for the agenda – will educate kids on bike safety; acknowledged BA/CFO Riehl – is proud of her work on the Budget – are very lucky to have her – thanked her for always being there for her.
Councilwoman Byrnes: praised BA/CFO Riehl – has done and continues to do an outstanding job every day in every aspect of running town affairs – keen business acumen has led to sound financial decisions which keep us on solid footing – is grateful for her leadership and guidance; gave the Fire Report – began training on their new equipment for the Rescue Team’s response to motor vehicle accidents – will begin changing hydrant parts to quick connect pieces – tomorrow is a scheduled tour of the condominium complex at the south end of town, for a complete comprehensive understanding of the building – the Fire Dept. attended the Committee Fair on Sunday and has a few prospective members – thanked them for serving and protecting all; the Golden Gulls Fashion Show is this Sunday, 2PM-4PM at the Elks – Mayor Kanitra will be the Master of Ceremonies – Council will be participating in the modeling – will be door prizes, 50/50, refreshments; at 7PM tomorrow, the Shade Tree Commission (STC) has a speaker from the Barnegat Bay Partnership on Landscaping with Natives for a Healthy Environment – the 2nd in a 2-part series – they thank BA/CFO Riehl for phone announcements, which help with attendance – Big Beautiful Tree Program has a record number of residents this year – have 27 new trees as part of Nominate your Block – STC is suggesting a Peace Tree to honor Ukraine (BA/CFO Riehl: they picked a location that really wasn’t suitable, so she asked them to come up with other areas; Mayor Kanitra: complimented the Senior Committee accomplishments).
Councilman Ramos: busy last couple weeks – attended his first Green Team and Environmental Commission meeting on Mar. 24th – lots of activity – looking to maintain Bronze status for Sustainable New Jersey and try for Silver – they participated in the Committee Fair, which he heard was a great success; met with DPW Superintendent. Trout and Asst. Supvr. Johnston and saw the Water Treatment Plant – showed him the ins and outs of the facility – is impressed with how organized it is, etc. – saw that at the garage as well – things are where they need to be and they know what they have – he had some experience with a water facility at a resort in the Poconos – an amazing facility – amazing how much they do – he learned a lot – hat’s off to DPW Super. Trout and his 2 supervisors – they do a great job for this town – a thankless job; the Bd. of Ed. is presenting their Budget at their next meeting next Tuesday (Mayor Kanitra: thanked him for taking the initiative to meet with multiple departments to gain a better understanding).
Councilwoman Crowley: gave a Finance Committee update – introducing the Budget tonight – took a lot of hard work, especially on behalf of BA/CFO Riehl – a pleasure working with her – she is super bright and knows how to manage a Budget like ours very well – is proud to have this Budget for consideration, after all the hard work and many meetings – all worked diligently on it; DPW is still transitioning from winter to spring – working hard, very organized – have a really good system going – is proud of what they do there; suggested that the Senior Gulls connect with the library for Internet classes or something – would be happy to help – is excited for the Fashion Show, – her mother is excited to be in it – the seniors are very excited about all that the Committee has brought forward for them; asked all to join them after the Fashion Show for the Ukraine Benefit Concert (Mayor Kanitra: great idea for the library and the seniors).
Councilman Migut: for the Parking Authority – he got the green light from the Borough Atty. and encouragement from Authority Chair Bonsper for the Parking Pass Incentive Plan – discussed with BA/CFO Riehl – 2-10 employee passes will be $25, 10-40 participating employees would be a $50 decrease in the succeeding year’s mercantile license, so that loss of revenue can be anticipated in the next year’s Budget – hopes that encourages businesses to utilize the railroad lot and free up parking spaces downtown – asked that it be put on the agenda to authorize the Borough Atty. to draft an ordinance amendment or new ordinance (added as item 2O); spoke about the Inlet Drive Project – the concreting of the sand area at the Inlet – he brought it up and the Engineer called into the meeting and cut $90K from the estimated cost that he had presented – it was $490K in the Budget packet and now it’s $400K, from what he understands – that got him thinking about the finances of the project – we pay up to $18K every 3 years to replenish the hard-packed sand there – that’s 66 years’ worth of replenishment that we would get out of $400K, as opposed to putting the concrete in this year – in an inflationary year, where everyone is suffering, asked all to question whether this project need be included – it’s in the Budget, but the bond ordinance has to be adopted and can reconsider at that time; with regard to the Finance Committee, the Budget is being introduced tonight, but need to make a preliminary decision – when the tax rate was at 4.4 cents in the Budget process, he advised BA/CFO Riehl to transfer @$100K of increased engineering fees to W/S to see what it would do to the numbers – it brought the tax rate down but raised the W/S rate – the additional detriment to that financial play is that is that the taxpayers would not be able to deduct that amount of money from their Federal Income Tax because they are not paying it as a property tax, they’re paying it as a W/S tax – have to decide, so the CFO can properly introduce the Budget, whether to transfer or retain – asked for a casual poll of the dais (Atty. Riordan: there is absolutely no need for the Council to approach that question).
MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Kanitra: is healthy for all to talk about the Budget – ideas are welcome – the Inlet Project must factor in DPW man hours, manually shoveling and sweeping the lot after every storm, and it looks a mess after the 3rd year with ruts and water – haven’t fully committed to concrete –have asked the Engineer to look at permeable solutions and a meandering path – this is just setting aside funds – is premature to judge project without conceptualized renderings, final cost, permeable nature – it’s the same with the W/S system – every couple months, $20K for a breakage in a line here, $40K for a breakage in a line there – it’s going to cost a lot of money to replace and fix some lines, but that’s lost money at the end of the day – trying to make the town look and operate nice – the devil is going to be in the details (Councilman Migut: the proposal received in the Budget packet didn’t have options – it said “concrete” – weren’t aware of any other options) since it was brought up the first time, talked to the Borough Engineer – is sure there will be a concrete component, but if there will be meandering, drainage, sand, etc. it’s not just going to be a concrete monolith (Councilwoman Testa: thought we were going to meet and discuss) right – we are going to meet and work on it – don’t want it to look just like Manasquan’s, but better and be more naturally-harmonious with the land – have asked the Ocean County Open Land and Space Commission to acquire 3 pieces of land tangential, to expand the park – want the park to offer nice access to fisherman, kids and everybody who goes there – recommends not spending money until project is approved – everyone will get to vote on it when we have the project and the details (Councilman Migut: as long as we’re getting amended plans, is happy to hear that; BA/CFO Riehl: after this came up at a meeting, she sent all a concept plan and the soft draft of what we are looking to do – have $60K set aside in the Budget for this project – last year, bonded for $390K – this was just to finish the conception – the impact of that in this Budget on Capital Improvement funds is $3K – could argue pros and cons – DPW will have to continue to maintain – will have to arrange to have it salted or sanded – not spending any money until ordinance is in place) even talking about 4.4% is totally irrelevant because the Budget has been done pretty much the same for the 20 years – you take Dept. wish lists and throw into a Budget, which starts astronomically high – a ridiculous number, not feasible under the Cap – the Budget being presented tonight is excellent – Council only deserves a little credit – BA/CFO Riehl deserves the credit – Council decisions affect only about 5% of the Budget – insurance costs go up every year – have pensions to worry about, labor contracts – dealing with astronomically high inflations costs as well – QOL Dir. O’Rourke is doing a great job bringing in grant dollars – brought in $4M in grants since this Administration started – helps provide more services to the residents while offsetting costs – with our priorities in moving the town forward, in policing and safety and cleanliness, the Budget is in line with every Budget for the past 10 years or so – couldn’t’ be happier with where it is and where we are at – credit goes to BA/CRO Riehl for getting it from the wish list, making sure we get everything we want to do and what the residents are looking for, while still being, fiscally, very conservative – last year, collection rate was 99% (BA/CFO Riehl: last year, it was 96%, this year it was 99%) in the middle of a pandemic, our tax collection rate was that high and still we are conservative –Camden is 88% (Atty. Riordan: that’s one of the worst in the State) but that’s a big difference – parking revenue last year was up almost 30% – believes this summer will be even better than last and parking revenue will be higher than it was last year – are still are at a conservative estimate, not going off of last year’s numbers – our Airbnb tax, along with Hotel & Motel drastically over-performed last year – didn’t take that into consideration this year – BA/CFO Riehl was just as conservative as she was previously – the only thing to worry about, because of some of the State’s absolutely nutty laws, not holding people accountable, is Court cost – are treating this Budget conservatively, in terms of revenue and estimates – that’s all that matters – inflation rate is through the roof – buying power is less – cutting taxes would be cutting services – are right where we need to be and he appreciates that; congratulated QOL Dir. O’Rourke on her 2-year anniversary – she brought her baby to the Committee Fair yesterday – was happy with it – Committees are only able to do great things because of community buy-in and many people giving of themselves – Fair was a big undertaking – wanted to make sure all committees had an opportunity to increase membership – his idea translated into work for QOL Dir. O’Rourke – a great night – probably 30 or more people – Recreation had 7-8 people sign up, Animal Welfare had 2, Environmental Commission had about 6 – a lot of people are new to town and were intimidated about how to volunteer – a nice, informal opportunity – hopes to repeat every year; thanked QOL Dir. O’Rourke for helping with the concert – a wonderful community event, where the PPB community can come together and celebrate as one – this is for a good purpose, putting PPB as a global leader in terms of making a difference – if we raise $200K, which he thinks we will be able to, with the incredible sponsorships, will be able to affect change in the lives of 100,000 Ukrainians – about 1400 tickets sold out of 1600 so far – should sell out – 59 degree weather and great lineup; flagpole is up – he and Chief need to record messages for the Boardwalk and get “The Star-Spangled Banner” to play at 8AM military time every morning (BA/CFO Riehl: is working on a light).
ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:
BA/CFO Riehl: parking passes are in – working on getting them to everyone – in effect mid-May; trying get Ocean Ave. lined and numbered for parking and Central Ave. wrapped-up. – the Valve Exercising Project has been pushed to fall – line painting is on the agenda – need to focus on the Silver Lake and railroad lots, after debris is removed – let her know of any problem areas – they would like to start early in the morning; the flag pole is up; will be a new dais at the next meeting with functioning drawers etc. – are coming in next Friday and working through the weekend; had a Zoom call with DOT about the Drainage Improvement Project – been working on it for 8-10 years – looking at a construction start of maybe 2025 with a completion in 2028 – will encompass Rtes. 35N&S, Blodgett, across the railroad tracks, New Jersey, Trenton, Chicago – a lot to consider for timing – a couple years out – County does not have approval to move forward with Ocean Ave. – will likely be here in fall – will do Arnold and Ocean in conjunction as well.
Clerk announced additions/revisions to the agenda.
Councilman Migut: asked if item 1B is a new hire (BA/CFO Riehl: it’s a replacement).
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:30PM
Vincent Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: asked if the data sheet is estimates to be formalized (Mayor Kanitra: these are the numbers) asked what Cap means (BA/CFO Riehl: you have an appropriation cap and a levy cap – nothing here, really); asked if Ocean Ave, will be as is for the summer (BA/CFO Riehl: she thought they were going to pave it, but they are only going to pave what they disturb – is how it’s going to be until the County does their pave; Mayor Kanitra: it is nasty, but we are somewhat lucky because, BA/CFO Riehl thinks that some people in the bungalows will come back, realize they have water problems, and may need to cut into the road anyway – is worried that, with the State Lead Pipe Initiative, people will want to cut into the main after the pave – asked about options to prevent that; BA/CFO Riehl: that is a 1-year timeframe – they came out with a Chapter Law 2021/Lead Service Line Replacement Law that requires drinking water systems to inventory service lines, notify residents of the potential presence of lead, and plan for replacement within 10 years – we are at a loss because we are 1 of 2 towns where you connect your service to our mains – you pay the cost and you maintain it – we really don’t know what everyone has – is trying to work with the Engineer and Water Operator to see if we can back track to find out, historically, what’s there – might come from the residents themselves – will have to work with the Attorney to sort out if there is a need to change, the responsibility, the cost and such – she believes this mandates that, if not done in 10 years, the onus is on the municipality to do it; Mayor Kanitra: asked, if there is any way to prioritize the pipes in Arnold, Central and Ocean because there is going to be a project there; BA/CFO Riehl: we can – have a lot of part-time residents on Ocean Ave. – there were at least 3, who came for a few days after the job was finished and there was no water, and we had to go back out and open the street – now, the job is not finished – when they are done and it’s the final pave and before summer, they will open the paved road and we will have patches – if the County is behind schedule, can just sit with it because it is horrible to rip up a newly-paved road – and it’s costly for the homeowner – right now, if they are going to tie-in with any work to our exposed main, they are not paying permitting fees – after this, they have to pay for all of that – they sent some literature – was hesitant to post it on social media because it can be alarming – talks about running water for a full 30 seconds; Mayor Kanitra: for all we know, we don’t have any lead service lines – our mains, all the town lines, are not lead; BA/CFO Riehl: if they were our own, we would have records of when and where they were installed and materials used; Atty. Riordan: suggested testing the water from the tap for lead and reasoning backwards); asked about item 1D (Mayor Kanitra: recognizes volunteers), 1N (BA/CFO Riehl: private resident wants to use Pleasure Park for child’s birthday party – have a form – just need permission); asked where flag is going (Mayor Kanitra: center of Boardwalk); asked about the Attorney review on the Food Shack (Mayor Kanitra: had to go out to public bid for renewal because their contract ended – they won the renewal and the Attorney has to review the agreement); asked about item 3E (Mayor Kanitra: Special Law Enforcement Officers; Chief Kowalewski: part-time Class I Officers).
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked about 1J – gospel concert – technically, it’s some religious affiliation – nothing against what religion it is, but asked if we are setting a precedent, that could haunt us down the road, that any type of religion can come here (Atty. Riordan: when it comes to public property and somebody asks if they can use the Bandshell for a concert, the fact that there may be a religious affiliation to the concert is something we can’t pay any attention to – whether it’s a religion, this religion, or some other religion is irrelevant to the permitting process – the short answer to that question is “no”; Councilwoman Testa: wouldn’t just allow anyone to have a concert – don’t want something that is not appropriate to the community; Mayor Kanitra: have the right to say “no” to concerts, if there are too many events or the decibels are too loud; Atty. Riordan: comments about safety would be more relevant); asked about 2L – if contract includes public use of the bathroom (Atty. Riordan: it does; Mayor Kanitra: and BA/CFO Riehl increased our revenue from that two-fold); on the Budget, asked if the Water utility generated surplus this year and if it’s being translated into the regular Budget, or some line other than Water (BA/CFO Riehl: yes) asked if there is consideration to raise water rates this year (Mayor Kanitra: there is – our W/S system/underground pipes have not been addressed for many decades – some pipes are nearing 100 years in age – have cave-ins and problems and it’s costing the taxpayers money – when we looked at selling the water system, as a due diligence process, the number was astronomically lower than they had talked to us about because they saw the problems with the system – have tanks to be re-done – structural engineers found structural deficiencies, nothing health-related, with our water tower and tanks – commissioned a study to look at other area towns of similar size, etc. – haven’t had a rate increase in about 20 years – believe the rates are infinitesimally low compared to other towns, which is a deficiency that’s keeping us from being able to do structural improvements) no matter how low the rates are, it generated a surplus (Mayor Kanitra: yes, and we’re going to need a bigger surplus to tackle everything we’ve got) but if you pay all the bills through an increase of W/S fees, the current residents are picking up the whole tab, rather than if it was something bonded, going out to the future (Mayor Kanitra: thinks we would bond it and put it out in the future – not just going to tackle it in one fell swoop – will do a couple a year for like 20 years; BA/CFO Riehl: would still have a bond but, leading up to that, would have preliminary, contingencies, soft costs, engineering – stuff we could fund through the Budget and not have to bond for – were lucky to show a surplus – had a lot of old, misreading, Sandy-damaged meters – new metering project can pinpoint critical usage – were able to exceed what was anticipated the last 2 years) utility is not supposed to generate surplus and doesn’t understand raising rates when you have a surplus – understands shifting money to cover current costs, but if you knew there was a surplus, and you raise the rates, you are almost guaranteeing another surplus (Mayor Kanitra: depends on survey results – would put the projects on at the same time we were looking at an increase; BA/CFO Riehl: anticipating having an increase ready for the 3rd quarter billing, if warranted – study is done – has a meeting next week to go over options on how to proceed – will be eye-opening – have never changed the ready to use charge: Mayor Kanitra: our Federal Government is spending money like it grows on trees – if, over the years, we see money flow to municipalities to tackle those kinds of infrastructure improvements, and that can offset the cost, then we can get back more or cut the rate – with the way money is being spent on infrastructure right now, it’s a very good possibility).
E.J. Geiger, 115 Arnold Ave., PPB: agrees with Mr. Cavagnaro about the W/S surplus – should keep the it in W/S and earmark it for these projects; asked about the Central Ave. Project – with the way they did the concrete curbs, there is a lip, and when there is a bad rain, water isn’t going into the gutter – it’s hitting that lip and staying in the street (Mayor Kanitra: that will be fixed); a house on Chicago is putting in a pool – have a drain with a pump – water flows over the opening of the sewer at the corner of Central and Chicago and flows down the street and, because of that lip, the water is a quarter of the way out onto Central Ave. (Mayor Kanitra: asked if it can be vacuumed; BA/CFO Riehl: can look at it) could be that construction debris got stuck in there.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:41PM.
Motion by Councilman Vitale to close public participation and approve the items listed below was seconded by Councilwoman Testa and carried by roll call vote.
CONSENT RESOLUTION 1:
1a Approval of payment of Payroll #6 ($281,928.48)
1b Authorization to advertise for Customer Service Representative for the Building Dept.
1c Memorialization of auth to advertise for Dir., Asst. Dir., Sr. Counselors & Counselors for
Rec Summer Park Program
1d Resolution proclaiming 4/6 as Nat’l Service Recognition Day and 4/17-4/23 as Nat’l Volunteer Wk
1e Memorialization of auth to conduct hydrant flushing 4/4-4/22 & to advertise in Ocean Star 4/1-4/22
1f Resolution proclaiming April as Child Abuse Prevention Month
1g Approval of resolution for Jenkinson’s Fireworks 2022
1h Approval of 6 taxi vehicle licenses for Briggs Transportation through 4/20/23
1i Approval of PO to S&S Arts and Crafts form items for Park Program 2022 ($4,200)
1j Approval of S/E app for Ryan & Sara Delling Ministries for Gospel Concert, band shell, 7/2 (rain 7/3)
1k Approval of payment to BTMUA for March bulk water usage ($48,496.50)
1l Approval of payment to Oswald Enterprises for Jet Vac Cleaning/TV inspection ($3K)
1m Approval of payment to Ocean County Treasurer for County tax levy – 2nd quarter ($2,288,353.32)
1n Memorialization of approval of S/E app for Hadley’s Birthday Party in Pleasure Park on 4/8
1o Amend Res 2022-0315/1E (spring Rec Skate Board Lessons) to add 6/5 rain date/extend hrs to 11AM
1p Amendment to Res 2022-0315/1F (summer Rec Skate Board Lessons) to add 7/31 & 8/7 rain dates
1q Approval of PO & pymt to Foley Caterpillar for seat armrest repairs to GT for DPW ($1,958.94)
1r Approval of payment to Detcon for emergency repairs to GT #3 & GT #4 for DPW ($7,976.28)
1s Approval of payments from BOA escrow accounts
1t Approval of payment to Riggins for 2022 gasoline for DPW ($33,150.14)
1u Approval of payment to Acme/Lingo Flagpoles for 60’ flagpole – Boardwalk ($6,930)
1v Approval of pymt to Sinn Fitzsimmons, Cantoli for reimb of Mathis/Roto Rooter charge ($3,489)
1w Approval of pymt to GP Sewer Cam for GP Sewer Cam ($3,525)
1x Approval of PO to Turbo Electric for repair of electric-bath house ($2,710)
1y Approval of pymt to Crest Construction for Boardwalk flagpole base ($15,977.45)
1z Certification of compliance with US EEOC’s Enforcement Guidance
CONSENT RESOLUTION 2:
2a Approval of PO to Cambia Truck Center for 2023 autocar ($306,273)
2b Approval of PO to Lasting Line Painting for line painting throughout town($30K)
2c Approval of PO to Ground Hawg Demolition for lot improvements ($3,800)
2d Approval of PO to Crown Paving for drainage improvements WC lot ($14,303.25)
2e Appointment of D. Popp to the seasonal position of Comfort Station Attendant
2f Authorization to execute data sharing agreement between NJDCA and PPB Water Dept.
2g Authorization to hire A. Kondas as Parking Meter Laborer
2h Authorization to hire L. Iannuzzi as DPW Laborer
2i Authorization to implement personnel adjustments
2j Memorialization of auth to submit application for image processing system registration to the State
2k Amend to Res 2022-0315/1B (Rec Pickleball League) – incl Fri, 4/8-5/27, 4-7PM & 6/3-12/2, 6-9PM
2l Authorization to award lease to The Food Shack, LLC, pending attorney review
2m Authorization to hire W. Barry for the position of P/T Maintenance Worker
2n Appointment of J. Dixon, Jr., PPB, to the position of Litter Patrol Worker
2o Authorization for Atty to draft ordinance for parking pass incentive program
CONSENT RESOLUTION 3:
3a Approval of payment of computer-generated vouchers ($3,810,195.69)
3b Approval of payment to Boyle Bros Painting for interior Police Dept painting ($9,647.30)
3c Approval of payment to Nat’l Business Furniture for desk, 3 returns, lateral file for PD ($7,026.25)
3d Approval of payment to McCarthy Contracting for construction materials for the PD ($10,709.61)
3e Appointment of (7) Seasonal SLEO I’s for the year 2022
3f Authorization for Fire Co to auction surplus 2001 Ford F250 pick-up truck & plow on GovDeals.com
3g Support for 2022 UDrive. UText. UPay. Distracted Driving Crackdown, April 1-30
3h Approval of PO to Diversified Fixture Custom Cabinetry for cabinets in PD booking areas ($10,002)
3i Approval of payment of McNamara Screenprint & Embroidery for 36 shirts and pants for PD ($2,880)
3j Approval of pymt to Emerg Accessories/Installations for 2021 PD Interceptor accessories ($15,591.31)
3k Change in petty cash custodian, to R. Kowalewski, for PD and PD Detective Bureau
CONSENT RESOLUTION 4:
4a Resolution to defer $5,979,327 school taxes
4b Introduction of 2022 Municipal Budget
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut (except 3a, 3f, 4b)….YEA
Councilman Migut (4b)….NAY
Councilman Migut (3a, 3f)….ABSTAIN
Clerk announced that the second reading on the Municipal Budget will be on May 3rd.
ORDINANCE:
Ordinance 2022-05 (Cap Bank) was introduced on first reading. Motion by Councilman Vitale to approve Ordinance 2022-05 on first reading was seconded by Councilman Ramos and carried by roll call vote. The Public hearing will be held on May 3, 2022.
VOTE: Councilmembers Vitale, Testa, Byrnes, Ramos, Crowley, Migut….YEA
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION BEGAN AT 8:43PM
Vincent Castin, 15 Trenton Ave., PPB: asked about item 2L – the bathrooms and lockers (BA/CFO Riehl: unisex bathroom is for anyone to use – lockers are rented out by the Food Shack).
Dave Cavagnaro, 118 Parkway, PPB: asked if trucks, debris and supplies will be out of the Silver Lake lot by Easter (BA/CFO Riehl: should be – start charging Mar. 1st – must be line-painted and ready to go).
Elizabeth McLoughlin, 310 Cooks Ln., PPB: lived on Central Ave. for 17 years – has never drained; bought house in Oct. – on Jan. 6th, the town main sewer line backed up into her house and grossly filled it with raw sewage – the next day, spoke to Eileen in the Clerk’s office – showed pictures – nice man came and cleaned everything out – was given the warning that, if it was on her end, she was going to have to pay for it – plumber, who was knee-deep in sewage said it was not her line – water stopped coming in but didn’t go down – waited an hour – called again – had to clear again – had to clear out on St. Louis – finally, the water started to recede – house used to be a 2-family – bought it because it wasn’t going to renew the CO for a 2-family – 2 of her sons were using the bedrooms downstairs – there are 2 bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, living room – town said “no problem, they would submit everything to the insurance company” – had raw sewage in her house – children are now upstairs where there are only 2 bedrooms – called her insurance – was a cap on the amount of money she could get – got 4 days of Servpro ripping everything apart – still hasn’t received anything from the town to recoup from her damages – she is working on it – is disappointed because she feels she had no one advocating for her – really wasn’t shown any sympathy – just wanted someone to say they were sorry this happened to her and they were going to work on it for her – spoke to a supervisor at Qual-Lynx today – didn’t know that Qual-Lynx wasn’t the insurance company, but a3rd party that collects information and reports it to the insurance that our town pays into – that wasn’t explained to her – is not saying that anyone was mean or rude to her, but she has been in the dark for 3 months – if she didn’t have the money to put into this, she would be in a bad spot – disheartening that she has never received a phone call, from the phone calls or emails she sent to the town – no one has checked up on her – spoke to Councilman Vitale – he has listened to her – there is really not much he can do – hoping to hear back from the supervisor at Qual-Lynx – been really disappointing – part 2 is that, in all of this, she found this was an existing problem before she bought the house – there should be records of calls that the previous owner, Ron Kennedy, made, maybe twice a year, to get this line that goes into the house cleared out – what’s upsetting to her is that she didn’t know about it – no one told her – the question is when it is going to happen again, and will she be stuck sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone to jump in and help her, and how many times is she going to have to pour money out of her pocket – she bought this old house – downsized – location near the school is perfect for her daughter – apparently that line and blockage stops right at her house – wonders if someone can research this – she can do an OPRA to find out how many calls were made and how many times they’ve had to clean this out – this is not just a basement, it’s a finished part of her home – when she put in this claim, they were going to keep the cabinets and partial kitchen area for the kids – she only submitted for flooring, sheetrock and paint replacement – cost is $19K – could have been $40K – is disheartened, not by how she has been treated to her face, but by how she has been ignored (Mayor Kanitra: as a citizen, expressed empathy for her situation – anytime liability is discussed, we must err on the side of what the Borough Atty. wants us to do – strongly asked the Borough Atty., on behalf of the Governing Body, that whatever is legally appropriate from a customer service perspective to show empathy and whatever we can do to show that we are responsive to residents, founded or unfounded, be done – make sure we are listening to everything being said and react appropriately – we are not subject matter experts and don’t know all the facts and figures of the situation, but it’s always good to come to the Council meeting because we are listening and the Borough Atty. and Borough Administrator realize that we all care and this is something that needs to be looked at; BA/CFO Riehl: Eileen, the Clerk, and Janet, in her office have gone out of their way to try to help and accommodate) they haven’t returned a single phone call or email (BA/CFO Riehl: disagrees) went in and spoke to Janet, who said she send an email – asked if she can call – she said she can – said I’d be back tomorrow – she goes “Oh my God” –is not going to stop coming and asking questions’– gives breaks in between – is polite when she comes – asked for someone to ask how everything is and if she is ok – been 3 months – her children are living in what is supposed to be a dining room – doesn’t care who likes her or what anyone thinks about her situation – would like someone to just pretend it matters and they care – that will make her happy – the person she spoke to today made her feel like he cares about her situation – that’s all she asks for – she went through Sandy and was told she had to elevate – never once did she have a complaint about what she had to do, ordinances, etc. – this seems like it could have been simple – she felt like it was an annoyance – anyone can say that’s not what they meant to portray, but she has never come to a Council meeting and she felt like she’s been treated poorly (BA/CFO Riehl: are going to have to agree to disagree) would expect her to agree – came here to express her concerns – has concerns for anyone else who has run into this problem because she asked the gentleman at Qual-Lynx if he knows her case and said she is the lady who has a brother who is a lawyer – she had to say he was sorely mistaken – she has been treated poorly and when she came back to the Borough and spoke to Janet the last time, she said she had an email saying she received $10K from her insurance company – she asked her to make another call and never heard anything (BA/CFO Riehl: when it goes to insurance, we step out of it – this insurance adjuster talks to the insurance company) understands – a little bit of empathy would have changed my day – instead, she is up at night worrying about the contract she has on the kitchen – she has a charge on late payments she can’t do anything about it – expected a little bit of something, instead of having to come here and pour her grievances in front of a room of people – that’s sad; asked someone to check out what is going on at Cooks Ln. with that pipe.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION ENDED AT 8:58PM
Motion by Councilman Migut to adjourn was seconded by Councilman Vitale and carried by consent of Council.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:58PM.
ATTEST: ______________________
Eileen A. Farrell, RMC
Municipal Clerk
